Modern selective call receivers, e.g., pagers, generally include circuit supporting substrates, e.g., printed circuit boards, with electronic components mounted thereon, such as via surface mount technology. A trend in the market toward overall device miniaturization is driving the need for component device miniaturization. At the same time, there is a trend to increase the number of functions of the component devices, which is driving the need for increasing the number of electrical interconnections between component devices.
The requirement for smaller component device dimensions is in direct conflict with the requirement for increased number of interconnections because the former tends to reduce the available surface area for interconnection while the latter demands more interconnections with the available surface area. That is, on the one hand, smaller component device dimensions increasingly limit the available space for interconnecting component devices, while, on the other hand, increasing the number of interconnections between component devices requires more space, which is not available, for interconnecting the component devices or a finer pitch, i.e., finer resolution, between adjacent interconnections within the available space. Unfortunately, contemporary manufacturing technology has been limited in the minimum pitch that can be used for interconnecting component devices within the available space. Particularly, the placement of component devices on circuit supporting substrates becomes very prone to errors as the pitch of the interconnections approaches the limit of the technology. This creates significant defect problems during manufacturing and increases the cost of the final product. Additionally, the increased number of manufacturing defects reduce the overall reliability and quality of the final delivered product as perceived by the customer.
Thus, what are needed are self-aligning electrical contacts for surface mount interconnection that significantly improve the rreliability of placement of the component devices to reduce the possibility for manufacturing defects even while utilizing a finer pitch that approaches the limit of the technology.